Storing Nuclear Waste Near Lake Huron - Part 2

Building A Nuclear Waste Storage Facility Near Lake Huron

With all of the generalities having been discussed in part one of this blog post, I will delve right into the issue a hand.

Kincardine nuclear plant

Currently, the OPG (Ontario Power Generation) is in the process of asking the federal government for approval on their proposal to build a nuclear waste dump under the Bruce nuclear plant at Kincardine, Ontario.  The Ontario Power Generation, an Ontario based electric company wholly owned by the Canadian government, owns the Kincardine nuclear plant, which is leased to Bruce Power L.P.  Given that every nuclear plant in Ontario is owned by the OPG, they are solely responsible for the management of nuclear waste coming from Ontario nuclear plants.

The nuclear waste dump would be made to house low and intermediate level nuclear waste from Ontario's nuclear plants.   Low level nuclear waste essentially consists of anything from radioactively contaminated mops, to rags, to buckets.  Intermediate level nuclear waste on the other hand consists primarily of reactor components and other associated things, such as resins, filters, etc.  Out of the two however, it's the intermediate level waste that poses the real concern; when compared to low level waste, intermediate level waste can remain radioactive for over 100 000 years.

Thus is the reason for such high emphasis on the proper care and management of these nuclear wastes, in view of not only the next hundred years, but the next thousands of years.  As such, to keep these wastes contained in a way so as not to be able to have any effect on people, the environment, etc... is not an easy task, nor one with many solutions.  So far, the best solution is to house nuclear waste where it is most probable to never pose a threat to anything or anything for as long as possible.  Such a place could be an exhausted mine or quarry.  But in he case of Ontario's low and intermediate level waste, the answer lies, according to the OPG, in the proposed nuclear waste dump.

An aerial view of the designated location of the proposed
DGR.

The dump, which would be a DGR, or Deep Geological Repository dump, would be situated at 680 meters  below surface, and be around 1.2 kilometers away from Lake Huron.  Eventually the dump would be sealed with a sand/clay mixture and would undergo monitoring for a few years before it's abandonment.   The issue however, is simple.  Is placing a nuclear waste dump so near to one of the Great Lakes a good idea, or a recipe for disaster?  Hard to say.

An outline provided by the OPG of the proposed nuclear dump site.

                                                                           
  The DGR will  be built directly in a limestone rock bed millions of years old, and the OPG insists that it will have no effect on the surrounding environment and should be able to safely house the waste for 100 000 years.  According to the OPG, numerous experts including engineers, geologists, geoscientists, hydrologists, etc... have studied the proposed DGR and have deemed it safe.  The OPG also assures that it's experts hav determined that the rock in which the dump will be built, will remain stable for hundreds of millions of years.  Although the location for the dump seems to be, and it in fact may well be, completely capable of safely housing the waste according the the OPG and its experts, there are many unknown factors to take into consideration.

The Nuclear Waste Dump will be very large
– approximately 37 acres on the surface and
twice that size underground, and will accommodate

  The Great Lakes, Lake Huron included, provide so much for so many people as well as all the other living things in their regions.  How can we be so sure that the dump will safely house it's waste and that the waste will not effect it's surrounding environment in 1000 years, or even 500 years, let alone 100 000 years.  It's impossible to even comprehend the state in which the world will be in in 100 000 years.  I say this not to diminish the analysis and conclusions drawn by the OPG's experts, I say it only to reinforce the fact that the decision to build the dump at this location is not something that is based on concrete knowledge, only understanding and predictions, however accurate they may be.  Although an extremely anti-DGR dump website, a page on www.stopthegreatlakesnucleardump.com puts things into perspective in comparing the promise of the dumps durability to the Great Lakes themselves: "Is it reasonable to conclude that an unmonitored Nuclear Waste Dump will contain its radioactive contents for 100,000 years? The Great Lakes were created only 12,000 years ago."
I can't help but agree that truly, how could we be so sure that the repository will remain intact with all of it's contents untouched for such a long period of time?  In truth, I am not sure we can.

The second issue is that a Deep Geological Repository in limestone is not something that has been undertaken before by anyone in the world.  Due to this, many people are rightfully concerned with the fact that it would be a small Ontario community backed by the OPG undertaking this project, whereas the project should be of international focus.  

As the unknown factors of this project begin to pile up, I find it hard to see any good reason for the OPG to go through with the plan as intended.  So far, I can't see any reason which would justify the construction of the dump at this location, so near to Lake Huron.  As far as I can tell, the risks and unknowns of completing the project at this location greatly outweigh any current benefits (if there are any?) offered by this specific location.  The fact is, why would anyone want to build a nuclear waste dump, using an unproven and untested method, so close to a water ecosystem on which millions of people, animals, plants, etc, rely on?  The OPG could very easily choose another location far from the Great Lakes, and free of the uncertainties surrounding the dump,  but they have not even taken another location into consideration.  All in all, I can say that I personally against the proposed dump specifically because of it's location.

Due a high amount of publicity, the proposed dump is now a highly debated subject in both Canadian and American politics.  A large contributor of that publicity has been the sheer amount of articles, both in print and online which have been written with the proposal in focus.
To learn more about the proposed DGR, visit the Ontario Power Generation's DGR website :
http://opgdgr.com/

www.stopthegreatlakesnucleardump.com billboard

A major player in raising the awareness of the proposal has been a website titled stop the great lakes nuclear dump.  The website provides much insight into why (it is believed) that the proposed DGR is a bad idea.  There, you'll find a bounty of resources concerning the dump, as a constantly updating  news feed on all things related to the dump.  The website has also been backed by such notable people as David Suzuki. Thanks to this publicity, the people who depend on the Great Lakes water and who would be impacted of the project went awry can be well informed on the subject of the proposed DGR and can have a say in the proposal's outcome.  It's hard to say what the proposed nuclear dump's future will be, but thankfully it is now getting the attention and consideration it requires. 

To learn more about the proposed DGR, visit the Ontario Power Generation's DGR website :
http://opgdgr.com/

Personally, it is my hope that the proposal doesn't go through for the numerous reasons stated in the paragraphs above.  I'm glad that the website has been able to reach to the public in order to increase the public's awareness and broaden their understanding of the project.  It's thanks to efforts like this that many questionable/debatable projects such as this one can have a chance at being properly considered before a decision is made.  You can check out the site for yourself by clicking the link below:
http://www.stopthegreatlakesnucleardump.com/index.php

As always, thanks for reading!







Sources:
1. http://www.durhamregion.com/news-story/4182488-debating-nuclear-waste-storage-near-the-great-lakes/
2. http://www.stopthegreatlakesnucleardump.com/nuclearwastedump.php
3. http://nuclearsafety.gc.ca/eng/about/regulated/radioactivewaste/how.cfm#C1
4. http://www.world-nuclear.org/Nuclear-Basics/What-are-nuclear-wastes-/
5. http://opgdgr.com/
Images:
1. Kincardine nulcear plant http://www.thestar.com/business/economy/2013/05/23/michigan_senate_says_ontario_nuclear_waste_site_raises_serious_concerns.html
2. Proposed nuclear dump location http://www.stopthegreatlakesnucleardump.com/nuclearwastedump.php#
3. DGR outline http://www.opg.com/power/nuclear/waste/dgr/
4. DGR size http://www.stopthegreatlakesnucleardump.com/nuclearwastedump.php#
5. stopthegreatlakesnnucleardump.com billboard http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/09/21/opp_quiz_opponents_to_lake_huron_nuclear_dump_prior_to_hearings_walkom.html